1
Luna stared at the massive form in front of her. Volos' shadow cast a large dark spot over her frame. Celestia looked on in awe of what she had just witnessed.
"You called him." she murmured.
Luna continued staring as well. "Looks like it." She mumbled, half thinking for a while. "Now what?" she asked.
"He listens to you, not me. I wouldn't know what to do."
Volos looked down at Luna, his gaze unmoving. Luna looked up at his glowing eyes and didn't move either. Eventually Volos groaned and turned away from the Night Princess. He began to walk down the hallway and back to the room he was previously waiting inside.
"Wait!" Luna called. "Come back!" Volos kept moving away from his summoner. "Walk with me!" she hollered, not knowing why. Volos stopped and turned back around. He retraced his previous footsteps and once again stood by Princess Luna's side. "I'll be around." she told Celestia, walking down the hallway; Volos close behind. Celestia said nothing, only nodded and went on her way as well.
Luna continued to walk through the corridors of the facility with Volos behind her. She did not know what to do. As she walked she could hear the massive footsteps of the creature behind her. Luna turned around and sat down, looking at Volos. Her mind raced again, going over all the events of the previous weeks.
"Why me? Why do you do what I say?" Luna's eyes closed. "And why does it feel like I know you?" she mumbled sadly. Volos gave no reply, instead staying silent. "I see. You can't talk and yet I have heard of your ability to communicate through writing. So, please write something for me." Luna pleaded. Volos remained still for a time. He turned around and walked off in the opposite direction that they had just come from. Luna shot up. "Wait, come back!" Volos looked over his shoulder and continued walking, Luna giving chase.
When Volos had finally stopped they were back inside Volos' room. Luna's throat hurt after begging him to stop using a louder voice than was necessary. Volos turned his attention to the wall and deployed a claw. Placing the newly deployed blade to the wall, he began to etch into the crystal. Luna waited in anticipation of what his message would be. The claw slipped back into Volos finger and he turned to face Luna again, moving away from the wall. Luna looked at it with excitement.
"Commanded?" she whispered, turning her gaze back to Volos. "I commanded you to do what? And I don't even know how I commanded you to do whatever it is I told you to do!" Volos gave no answer and sat down on the ground, his eyes flicking off. Luna stared at the sitting Volos in frustration. "Perhaps I'll never know." she pouted, walking out of the room.
2
The sun had risen over the land and Carbon Date walked around the excavation site, enjoying the slow day. He observed as the team of students worked the site; digging, dusting and setting up new workstations around the many trenches. He walked around leisurely, taking in the sight of students who were actually enjoying the work now that Field Dust was in Canterlot. He approached one of the students, a yellow pony with striking green eyes and a purple mane.
"How is it going Sunny?"
The pony looked up to Carbon Date. "Not bad Carbon. I still don't know why we're working when we could be having a vacation somewhere nice." she said, almost groaning.
"With Field Dust gone, we don't have to work quite as hard. So, just think of this as a working vacation."
Sunny shrugged. "I guess. Why are we down here? We haven't found anything. I'm thinking that this is a lost cause."
"Well I just thought that while Field Dust is gone we could work on the site at a leisurely pace and take our time with it. If we gather enough evidence that nothing is here, then maybe Field Dust will lose interest and we wouldn't have to be here."
"Fair enough", Sunny said putting the shovel back into the ground.
Carbon Date continued his survey of the excavation, enjoying the sound of hammers and scraping rocks instead of hearing Filed Dust yelling in his ear. He went back into the tent that Field Dust was using previously and slumped down into the chair, humming a quiet tune. He looked at the map Field Dust had been scribbling on for the duration of her stay by Liber Mountain. Carbon causally skimmed over the notes and the many markings that littered the map. His gaze was now transfixed by all of the circles and x's that were scattered all around the drawing of the mountain.
"She was extremely methodical about this." he stated, now studying the map even closer. He traced his hoof along the x's and saw that only one circle did not have an "x" on it. "Looks like we could have gone home early if the Princess hadn't sent for Professor Dust. But why is this one not crossed out? Have we not excavated here yet?" He got up out of the chair and went out to the makeshift supply shack, making his way inside. He skimmed over all of the boxes and bags inside the small hut. "No. No. No, that's not it. Do we even have any left?" he mumbled, skimming over the boxes. "AH! Here they are!" he grabbed the bag and opened it. "Only two? How many have we gone through? Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to boost their effectiveness with the help of a crazed unicorn." Carbon Date left the shack with his bag, worried about his next meeting.
He approached a unicorn whose fur was caked in dirt and he had a flaming yellow mane and a gray coat. Carbon did not like talking to him but he had no choice this time.
"Hello Dyno Mite." he said hesitantly.
Dyno Mite looked up to the Earth Pony. "Well if it isn't the suck up himself. What can I do for ya Carbon?" he asked, his eye twitching and a hint of craziness in his voice.
"I need you to amplify the effectiveness of these explosives." Carbon placed the bag onto the table beside him.
"That all? And here Ah thought you wanted to chat. Mind telling me why you want their effectiveness enhanced?"
"That's not your concern Dyno Mite. I just need them boosted about forty percent."
"Ooh, Ah like where this is going." the strange unicorn said. "Tell you what; Ah'll boost em fifty instead. Makes for a bigger BOOM!" he shouted, scaring Carbon Date.
"Yes, alright." he stammered. "I need them done as soon as possible", he said; leaving the unicorn to his work. Carbon glanced over his shoulder and shuddered.
3
Celestia walked down the corridors of the facility, a smile plastered to her face. She trotted up to where Luna was staying and gently tapped on the door.
"Luna are you in?" she called. "Luna?" Celestia opened the door slowly, poking her head in. She was greeted by the sight of Luna sprawled on her bed. Her sheets were on the floor and the pillow was under her back. Luna's mouth was agape, accompanied by a line of drool and was snoring loudly. Celestia laughed silently and closed the door. She continued her stroll through the facility until she noticed something was amiss.
Celestia walked back to the window pane and looked down into the room where Volos was. Volos was facing wall opposite the door. His hands were moving across the wall at a rapid pace. Celestia cocked an eyebrow and quickly made her way down to the door to Volos' room. She cracked it open and peered inside. Lines and shapes crisscrossed the wall, most of them Celestia did not recognize. Volos stopped and retracted his claws. He placed a hand on the etching and slowly moved his metal palm over the picture, letting out a long whine.
Celestia was silent. Volos had regained his own thought processes. She slowly moved her head out of the doorway and closed the door behind her.
"I need to tell Luna", she whispered, galloping to Luna's room. She arrived quickly and threw the door open, eliciting a loud bang from the impact the door made with the wall. "Luna wake up!” she yelled.
Luna's eyes blasted open and she tumbled off her bed, her hooves sprawled in every direction. "What doth thou want!?" she screamed, reversing to her old way of speaking, "I was having a most exquisite dream."
"It's Volos; he's doing something on the wall of his room. I need you to follow me", Celestia informed Luna. "Now."
Luna staggered to her feet, "Yes, yes, very well. I am coming."
The two sisters trotted quickly to where Volos was being kept. Celestia cracked open the door again and allowed Luna to look inside. She found Volos quickly with her eyes. He was standing a short distance away from the wall with the strange lines and shapes etched into them. She studied the lines and shapes carefully. Her mouth made silent shapes, showing she was speaking without sound. Celestia tried to look over Luna's shoulder but needed to open the door more so her head would fit through. The door creaked a little bit as it opened. Celestia sucked in a breath, hoping Volos did not hear the door.
Volos was still, his body like a statue. His hand clenched into a fist and brought it to his waist. He began to growl loudly, his heart rate audibly increasing. Luna and Celestia looked on in absolute silence. They blinked and a deafening crack was heard. Volos' hand was buried inside the crystal wall. Volos let out a massive roar and pulled his hand out of the wall, causing shards of crystals to rain down to the floor. He lifted a leg and pushed through the wall as well. He beat against the wall, causing a small rain of crystals to hit the ground. Celestia and Luna pulled their heads out of the door way quickly, retreating to the sanctuary of the hall.
"What was that?" Luna asked, in complete surprise.
"I do not know. He was scratching those lines into the wall earlier this morning and I came to find you after I watched him for a while, but that? That was something I did not expect!"
"When did he start acting like that?"
"Sometime while you were sleeping or late last night. I don't' know which", she said covering her ears as another roar came from the room next to them. "See if you can calm him down!"
"While he's on a rampage?! Have you lost your mind!?" Luna shouted.
"Do it or I'll throw you in there myself!"
Luna begrudgingly got up and opened the door again, this time completely. She looked the rampaging beast before her. "Volos stop, what's wrong?!" she tried to ask, but without response. Luna tried to gain Volos' attention but she could not. "Volos please, enough", she tried again. "Stop this madness!"
Volos pulled himself away from the wall; his breaths were fast and labored. Luna breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that she could now talk to Volos. She took a small step inside, her shore clicking on the surface of the ground. Volos' gaze shot to the Lunar Princess, who froze. "V... Volos? Are you alright?" she asked hesitantly. Volos did not remove is eyes from the scared Princess. He turned his body to face her and took a step forward, his boot cracking the crystal underneath his angry step. Luna began to back out slowly, allowing the angry giant to continue his walk.
"Luna what happened?" Celestia asked, seeing her sister backing out. Luna paid her no mind and continued to move out of the way. "Luna?" Celestia was silenced by the emergence of Volos from the room. He would have shoved them out of the way if they were not already to his side. "Luna what happened?" Celestia asked sternly.
"I do not know. He was smashing the wall and then that. I don't know what's going on or how he even regained his own thought processes but all I know is that this Volos is much different from the one we faced when he was under Anubis' control. We need to follow him and make sure he doesn't hurt anypony. What made him so angry though is unknown to me."
"Me as well, but we need to hurry or we'll lose him inside this place." Celestia urged, to which Luna nodded and ran off.
4
Carbon Date shuffled around nervously waiting for Dyno Mite to finish with his request. Dyno Mite was known for having an odd personality and a love for everything explosive and for a unicorn that was a dangerous mix. His age didn't help his supposed craziness either. He was a healthy twenty years older than most of the students at the excavation site. Carbon Date stared off into the distance hoping to not hear an explosion too soon. He jumped when he felt a hoof on his shoulder.
"GAH!"
"Cam down Carbon, geez! You gotta lighten up", Dyno said, chuckling.
Carbon Date sighed heavily, "Are you done with them yet?"
"Yeah", he threw the pouch to Carbon, "here!"
Carbon caught the bag and stumbled around a little bit. "Careful with those!" he shouted, "Are you trying to kill us all!?"
"Yer askin the wrong stallion that question. Ah very well could be! Ya never know! HAHAHA!" he laughed insanely. Carbon wore a horrified look. "Ah'm jus kidden! Damn, boy! You're wound tighter than nanny's clock! May the Princesses bless her soul."
"Um, indeed", he stuttered, "thank you. Now I must be on my way."
"Taint no trouble. Come back if you want an even bigger BOOM! HAHAHA!" Dyno Mite walked away laughing, leaving the fear stricken Carbon Date to his vices.
Once Carbon Date had recovered he took the bag to the one spot on the map that was not crossed out. He carefully took out the two sticks of Dynamite and placed them at the base of Liber Mountain.
"EVERYPONY GET BACK!" he hollered, before setting the timer. He waited to release the timer until all of the ponies around him were at a minimum safe distance. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" he released the timer and galloped as fast as his legs would carry him. He made it to where all of the others had retreated and ducked. A few seconds later an explosion rocked the ground beneath them making a small earthquake, a plume of rock and black smoke took to the air. The ponies that were taking cover hugged the ground for their very lives as chunks of rock and dirt came falling from the skies around them. The ground stopped shaking and all of the awe struck ponies slowly stood up. "Alright everypony, all clear! Take a minute to collect yourselves", he ordered; trying to recover from the explosion himself.
Dyno Mite was sitting in a chair a good distance away from the explosion and smiled hysterically at the sight of the smoke and the sound of the explosion. "WOO WEE! Best one Ah ever done! WHOO!" He noticed an approaching Carbon Date. Dyno shifted in his chair and waited for the impending shouting match.
"How much did you increase the power of those things!?" he roared. "I thought you were only going to increase it by fifty percent!"
"I lied! I increased em eighty-five percent! Best explosion Ah ever did make!"
"You could have killed us!” Carbon roared. "Good thing those were that two explosives we had", he mumbled.
"Yer lying, those were the last two?” he asked, hoping that it wasn't true.
"Sure am. Now back to the part where YOU COULD HAVE KILLED US!"
"But Ah didn't now did I? Yer all still here ain't ya!?"
Carbon Date huffed, "You're coming with me", he stated sternly.
"What? Why?"
"You made the boom; you get to investigate the aftermath with me. Now let's go."
"Fahn, Ah'm comin", he conceded. Dyno Mite got out of the chair and followed Carbon Date over to the blast zone. "Nelly! I made this one a big one", he chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, come on", Carbon date mumbled angrily.
They approached where the dynamite were placed and started to shuffle through the dirt and rubble left behind. The small piles of rocks and soil were beginning to pile up around them as they sifted through it. Dyno Mite had stopped after about an hour of digging while carbon Date was still working hard. Carbon's hooves were slathered in dirt and grime, and he was beyond tired. He was about to give up when a small crack in the dirt began to get extremely hot. He jumped off of the spot and waved his burning hoof through the air.
"What in the hay was that?!" he hollered.
Dyno Mite got off the lone remaining patch of grass and stood up. "Wha happened?"
"I don't know, this spot just got really hot and burned my hoof", he wailed.
"Oh, quit yer winin'. You ain't begun to hurt until you nearly blow yer limb off with a premature detonation", he said pointing to a large scar on his front left leg. As Dyno Mite finished scolding the younger Carbon Date he noticed that the dirt was beginning to glow. "Wha' in the world?" he said, causing Carbon Date to look behind him.
"The ground, it's...” he stammered; moving away from the glowing section. The dirt fizzled away into nothingness and what was left stunned both Carbon Date and Dyno Mite.
5
Volos continued wandering around the facility scaring any guard he ran across. They would raise their spears at him only to be growled or roared at, which scared them off in an instant. The Princesses trailed close behind. Whether Volos knew of their trailing him, they did not know. If he did, he was paying them no mind.
... Receiving transmission... Displaying...
... Unknown Beacon Located... Receiving Location... Location Received...
... Priority?...
'none'
... Confirming Zero Priority...
'Confirm'
...Confirmed... Storing Information For Later Viewing...
Volos continued his stomping through the facility. He came to an abrupt halt as he entered a large domed area. His head shifted so he could look up to the clear dome. The sun was showing brightly and he could see strange birds flying through the air. He sat down and never moved his gaze. Celestia and Luna had caught up with him and stopped.
"The sky?" Celestia murmured, "All he wanted was to see the sky?"
Luna was also confused, "I suppose." She went over and sat next to Volos, also taking in the sight of the blue skies. "It's nice isn't it?" Volos remained quiet. "I missed looking at the sky too when I was trapped on the moon. It's nice to see it again from the ground", she said; trying to help Volos calm down. Volos emitted a high pitched whine. "I see. You missed it to didn't you?" Luna smiled, hoping that she would be able to comfort the agitated giant.
Celestia did not say a word and simply left, hoping that Luna would not notice. She went down the hall and was stopped by a frantic looking guard. She took in the sight of him. He was sweating and his breaths were short and wheezy.
"My goodness, what’s happened?" Celestia asked, clearly concerned.
"It's...” he panted, "It's Fluttershy..."
"What about her?" Celestia's demeanor changed from concerned to very stern.
The guard took a breath and handed her a scroll, "She's awake."
6
"What is it?" Carbon Date asked his crazy compatriot.
"How should Ah know? Ah jus blow things up."
Carbon Date slowly placed a hoof over the large blue rectangle. He placed his hoof on it causing it to spark. "Well, it's solid", he said, "I can put my weight on this thing."
"Move over boy, let me have ah turn", Dyno commanded; stepping on the blue rectangle. "That's odd."
The two of them stood on the transparent blue rectangle and watched the small sparks arc and sputter over the shape beneath them. As they were experimenting with the odd glowing shape, a small crowd of students had gathered around him and Dyno Mite.
"Everyone stay back, I don't know what this thing is or how it's holding our weight. So, don't step on it", he ordered. The rectangle began to make odd sounds and vanished under their hooves. Carbon Date and Dyno Mite fell into the darkness below.
"Are you guys O.K?" one of the students asked.
Carbon Date looked up to the sky, "Yeah, we're fine! I'm going to take Dyno and go deeper into this chasm or tunnel, whatever it is. Send a letter to Field Dust in Canterlot! Tell her we found something!" He watched the silhouette of the student leave the rectangular hole. He turned his attention to Dyno Mite. "You alright old stallion?"
"Yeah, Ah'm good. Ah still got some fight left in me."
"Good. Let's get moving. The sooner we look around the sooner we can find a way out of this place", he informed Dyno Mite. "Any idea where this could go?"
"Do Ah look like Ah have a clue? Your guess is as good as Mahn."
Carbon Date began walking deeper into the darkness, Dyno Mite following after. They continued walking; the light inside the tunnel began to leave them. They kept going however, and only darkness remained.
"Can ya see anythin?" Dyno asked, squinting his eyes.
"Nope. I can't see a thing." Carbon stayed silent until something made his ear twitch. He closed his eyes and listened. "Hey, Dyno. Do you hear that?" he whispered.
Dyno Mite listened now as well, "Yeah, Ah hear it."
"Come on." Carbon Date kept walking making sure Dyno Mite was close by. As they went farther down into the tunnel they could hear a small sound and eventually what sounded like words. Carbon could see a faint purple light coming from farther down the tunnel. "I see light", he whispered, "almost there."
Carbon and Dyno Mite neared the light and stopped at the rather sharp corner and peeked around. They could make out what looked like a purple ghost floating around in the area ahead of them. They did their best not to scream at the sight of it. It was small and looked like a floating dot against the darkness. They tried to remain calm but found it increasingly difficult as the purple dot got larger and turned itself into a creature that walked on two legs and was taller than the two of them by at least a foot.
From where they stood, they could make out that the ghost was wearing what appeared to be a type of robe around its body. The transparent purple ghost walked around the area before them. They strained to remain quiet and unnoticeable as they moved their heads away from the sight and sat down quietly.
"What is it?" Carbon whispered.
"Ah don't know", Dyno Mite started, "Ah ain't never seen nothing like it."
Carbon nodded and risked another look at the purple ghost. He strained his ears and could hear it speaking.
"What am I going to do with Anubis when he gets back? Oh yes, delete him", it chuckled. It sounded female to Carbon Date, who was still straining to listen. "What about those two things that were on my barrier? Where could they be? They should have been here by now." it pouted. The ghost walked a short distance and a panel lit up in front of it. The ghost moved its upper appendage around the small blue square, moving small outcroppings up and down. "There they are", she said; turning away from the monitor. "It's alright, there's no need to be afraid. You are not the first to enter here. But you are the first to see me in long while." it said sweetly.
Carbon Date hesitantly moved himself out from the corner. The ghost took notice and looked at him. It lifted up one of its arms and motioned him forward. "I don't bite, come along now", it told Carbon.
He approached very slowly. "H...H...Hello?" he asked shakily.
"Hello. What is your name?" it asked.
"C... Carbon...D... Date" he stuttered, trying to hold on to the last threads of his bravery.
"My name is Athena. Welcome to my home."